Post-hole digger.



` 10.856,066. A PATBNTBD JUNE 4, 1907.

' R. T. JENNB'Y.

PosT HOLE BIGGER..

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 13, 1906.

W/T/VESSES ATTORNEYS rus rennais PsrsRs co., wxsnmc'rorv. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEFIOE.

ROBERT THOMAS JENNEY, OF DE PER-E, WISCONSTN.

POST-HOLE BIGGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1907.

Application filed September 13, 1906. Serial No. 334,415.

structure may be made exceedingly light i without sacrificing strength.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out in the claims.

Referenceis to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the device, and Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken practically on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The body of the device is constructed in two sections, a fixed section A and an opposing pivoted section B. These sections are made of metal either cast or forged, or they may be constructed of sheet metal if desired. Although preferably the members of each section are integral the said members may be attached to each other if so desired.

The section A consists of a segmental face plate 10, the outer face whereof is convexed, and the said plate member 10 at its upper edge is provided with a flange 11 upon its outer face for a purpose to be hereinafter described. Arms 12 and 13 extend inwardly from the inner face of the plate member 10, and said arms 12 and 13 are preferably at an equal distance from the center of said plate member as 'shown in Fig. 2.

The upper edges of the arms-12 and 13 at their inner ends are inclined downwardly to form ears 141; and also preferably the upper and lower edges of the said arms are practi cally straight. A bridge member 15 connects the upper edges of the arms 12 and 13 where the taper commences to form the ears 14; and a socket member 16 is integral with or is attached to the bridge member 15. The said socket member 16 is usually in the form of a channel bar as shown, being closed at its outer face and its inner face being open.

This socket member 16 receives the lower portion of a handle 17, whose lower -end rests upon the bridge plate 15, said handle being secured to the socket member by means of bolts or their equivalents.

A lever 18 is fulcrumed upon the upper portion of the handle 17 and intermediate of the ends of the said handle one or more guide devices 19 are secured, extending from the handle in the same direction as the lever 18. The handle 17 may be of any suitable dimensions.

With reference to the opposing body section B, it also consists of a segmental face plate 20, its outer surface being convexed as shown in Fig. 2, and arms 21 extend inwardly from the inner face of said segmental plate member 20, being located about an equal distance each side of the center of the member 20. The arms 21 extend inward between the arms 12 and 13 of the section A. The inner portions 21"L of the arms 21 are'of much less width than the outer portions of the said arms, but the narrower portions 21a of the arms have their lower edges in the same longitudinal plane with the lower edges of the wider portions of said arms; and the narrow or inner sections 21a of the arms 21 are brought somewhat close together and are connected at their ends by a suitable pin or bolt 24, which is passed through an eye 25 located between the sections 21a of the arms 20, said eye 2,5 being formed at the end of a shifting rod 26, which shifting rod is carried up through the guide device or devices 19 and is pivotally connected with the lever 18, as shown at 27 in Fig. 1.

The arms 21 of the sections B are pivotally connected with the arms 12 of the section A by means of a pivot pin 23, passed through the wider portions of the arms 21 and through the ears 14 of the arms 12, 13; and

where the narrower sections 21a of the arms 21 commence, `upwardly-extending lugs 22 are'formed at the upper edges of the said arms, which lugs 22 are normally adapted to engage the inner edge of the bridge member 15 of the section A, as shown by positive lines in Fig. 1, thus limiting the movement of the pivoted section B in direction of the fixed section A.

A blade C has its upper portion brought to close engagement with the outer face of the segmental plate member 10 of the body section A, the upper edge of said blade engaging with the under surface of the flange 11 of IOO IIO

said plate member as shown in Fig. 1; and rivets 28 or like devices are employed to secure the blade C to the said plate' member 10. The blade C conforms to the shape of the plate member 10, and the bottom or cutting edge of said blade is practically a shovel edge point. A corresponding blade C is similarly attached to the outer face of the plate member 20 of the pivoted section B, the rivets securing the blade C in position being designated as 28a..

In the operation of the device, when it is to be introduced into the ground the lever 18 is carried downward, which forces the pivoted section B away from the fixed section A until stopped by the engagement of the lugs 22 on the pivoted section with the bridge member 15 of the ixed section A, and at such time the two opposing blades T and C will be vertical and parallel. After the blades have been introduced into the ground, the lever 18 is carried up to the dotted position shown in Fig. 1, which will carry the inner ends of the arms 21 of the pivoted section B upward, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and will cause the blade C to incline inward or in direction of the blade C of the iixed section, so that as the device is withdrawn from the ground with the parts in this latter position, the earth will be held between the two blades, and after the surface of the ground has been reached the earth is dumped Jfrom the device by restoring the blade C to its normal position.

If found desirable in practice, the segmental members 10 and 2O may be extended downward and provided with lower cutting edges, thus forming themselves a scoop or shovel, instead of employing the blades C and C. The construction herein shown and described, however, is peferred.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

In a post hole digger, the combination with a body constructed in opposing sections, each section comprising a face plate having its outer face convexed, arms extending inwardly from each face plate at each side of the center, the arms of one face plate entering the space between the arms of the opposing face plate, a pivotal connection between,`

the arms of the two sections, a socket member secured to the outer arms of the series of arms, lugs carried by the inner arms of the series of arms and adapted for engagement with the said socket member to limit the outward movement ofthe sections relative to each other, the said face plates being provided with ribs upon their outer faces at their upper edges, of blades corresponding in shape to the shape of the face plates, which blades are secured to the outer surfaces of the face plates, the upper edges of said blades engaging with flanges of the said face plates, a handle secured in the said socket, a guide device secured to the handle, a lever pivotally connected with the handle above the guide device, and a shifting rod pivotally connected to the inner ends of the inner arms of the series and to the said lever.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT THOMAS JENNEY.

Witnesses:

CARL G. SCOTT, RAYMOND A. LEWIS. 

